


the last word (from your lips to my hips)

by havisham



Series: first & last (and everything in between) [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Competitive Mastubation (Past), Day At The Beach, Flatulent Doggos, Friends to Lovers, Future Fic, Loneliness, Look At Your Life Look At Your Choices, M/M, Matsuoka Rin: Confirmed Sex Idiot, Reunions, Separations, Switching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-18 12:20:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9384800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/havisham/pseuds/havisham
Summary: A decade out of high school, Rin is a world-class swimmer with an amazing life. But a chance encounter with an old friend makes him reconsider both the past and the future. Never one to hesitate, Rin takes the opportunity andswimsruns with it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was a wild ride! I watched _Free!_ for the first time last week, got to Rin and Sousuke's relationship in the second season, felt a lot of feelings -- and wrote this over the weekend. Help me!

Rin hardly heard what the nurse was saying as she came through the door. _Swimmer’s World_ had done a feature story on Haru and he was absorbed in reading it, scoffing to himself at the inaccuracies in the article. He planned to text them to Haru and Makoto as soon as he was done there, with commentary, of course.

The nurse repeated herself and he either looked or blinked at her for a moment before he understood what she was asking. His usual doctor, the one he often saw when he returned to Japan, for competitions and to see his family and friends -- had been called away on a family emergency. Would he be all right with a trainee doctor seeing him? Rin waved away her question -- he only needed the doctor to sign off on a waiver, it didn’t particularly matter to him what doctor did it.

The nurse nodded and gave him a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Rin sighed and knew he had offended her. Perhaps he had spent too much time in Australia; things were much more easy-going there. He tried to make it up to her, however, by turning out the patented Matsuoka charm. It worked. By the time Nurse Tanaka was finished with him, they were chatting away like old friends, so much so that when the door to the consulting room opened, they were both startled.

“Doctor Yamazaki!” Nurse Tanaka said, springing from her seat. “My apologies for the delay!”

“Sousuke!” Rin said at the same time, also rising up. Standing before him was _Sousuke_ , his best friend Sousuke, whom Rin had not seen properly since they had graduated from Samezuka Academy almost ten years ago. He had been ashamed to have let his relationship with Sousuke flag, but the first few years of full-on training had consumed almost all of Rin’s attention. Then there was the Olympic year, where he had almost broken his body trying to get to Rio…

The only thing that had stopped him was the specter of Sousuke himself and the fear of destroying the dream he had worked his entire life to make into reality. But Sousuke himself looked well, not much like a ghost at all. He was still big around the shoulders and trim at the waist, and his eyes were still that sleepy blue-green that hid a sharp mind behind it.

He was smiling at Rin, but it was the reserved smile of a doctor to his patient, not one that was meant for his best friend. He said, “Mr. Matsuoka, how are you feeling today?”

Piqued, Rin replied, “Don’t pretend you don’t know me, you idiot! I’ve known you since you were in elementary school.”

“I’m trying to be professional here,” Sousuke said with a sigh, and Nurse Tanaka edged away, handing him Rin’s paperwork before she left. Rin sprang on him as soon as she closed the door, enveloping Sousuke in a hug. He had accepted a long time ago -- well, third year at Samezuka -- that he would always been shorter than Sousuke, but it was annoying that it was still true.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you’d become a doctor?!” Rin said, as soon as he stepped away from Sousuke. He gave Sousuke’s arm a squeeze, to make sure what he was seeing was real, but he could only feel the press of skin, muscle and bone. Real.

“Who says I didn’t tell anyone? I talk to Gou almost every month,” Sousuke said, leading Rin back to his chair.

“You don’t call me, ever,” Rin said, wounded. “And Gou--” He hadn’t asked Gou about Sousuke since that terrible night she had mentioned, innocently and in passing, that Sousuke was engaged to be married. “Anyway! Congratulations on the job! You were always better at school than I was.”

“An empty head is better for swimming -- it floats,” Sousuke said gravely before cracking a smile.

“Hey!” Rin said, “I didn’t come here to be insulted.”

“That's right,” Sousuke said. “Let's take a look at you.”

There was nothing wrong with Rin, of course. At twenty-eight and coming off another successful competitive season, he was probably at his prime. Sure, he had some aches and pains -- a twinge in his shoulder, an ache on his left knee, but it was nothing serious. Rin took care of himself very well, he told Sousuke earnestly. Sousuke pulled that grave face again before agreeing.

It felt good, talking to Sousuke for the first time in so long. He was surprisingly knowledgeable about sports medicine, but that was not surprising at all when he told Rin that this was what he had chosen to specialize in. He checked Rin’s pulse and his reflexes. He signed off on Rin’s release. There was nothing more that he had to do other than release Rin back into Nurse Tanaka’s care to do his blood work.

They agreed to meet up later to go grab dinner.

Rin wondered if Sousuke would bring his wife.

*

Rin wasn't the type to agonize over what to wear or how he looked. He always looked good and the clothes he wore reflected that. But that night he hesitated over what to wear. The restaurant he and Sousuke had agreed to meet at wasn't exactly the fanciest, but it wasn't totally casual either. What if Sousuke did bring someone else? He hadn't mentioned it, but Rin didn't know how much Sousuke could have changed in ten years.

What if he was the type who was attached to hip with his spouse?

In the end Rin picked out the suit he used to meet less important sponsors. It was designer, but from last year, made with navy blue fabric with a subtle sparkle. It complimented his hair -- which he was growing out past his shoulders now, usually held back from his face with a messy bun, and braided and tucked away during competitions -- but he realized that it was too much. He kept the blazer and the crisp white shirt and switched the trousers to blue jeans.

He was wondering if he had forgotten something as he waited for the hotel elevator to bring him to the lobby when his phone chirped. It was a text from Gou, asking him if he wanted to Skype with her and the kids before tomorrow.

 **Rin:** _Can't, meeting with Sousuke for dinner_

 **Gou:** _What_

 **Gou:** _What happened_

**Rin:** _Went to the doctor to get some things signed. Why didn't u tell me S was a doctor? I looked like an idiot_

**Gou:** _Not that hard to do_

**Rin:** ….

**Gou:** _I thought you knew! He's YOUR best friend_

**Rin:** _Yeah…_

**Gou:** _OMG did you already argue_

**Rin:** _No!!!!!_

**Gou:** _I hate this_

**Rin:** _????_

**Gou:** _I've been trying to get you two to talk for AGES and suddenly you've met up and are going to dinner and it's all coincidence??? All my effort went to waste!_

**Rin:** _Don't feel bad sis, you were rewarded by the universe_

**Gou:** _Shut up_

**Gou:** _Anyway, I wanted to tell you to COME SEE US. Your niece and nephew don't remember who you are and what you look like_

 **Rin:** _I already bought the gifts_

 **Gou:** _Don't spoil them!! They already call you Uncle Moneybags_

**Rin:** _Do they?_

**Gou:** _No. They’re toddlers and have no concept of wealth. Idiot._

**Rin:** _Harsh._

 **Gou:** _Anyway, bring Sousuke so I can yell at you both._

 **Rin:** _I’ll make him come all right_

 **Rin:** ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 **Gou:** _I don’t think this text was meant for me_

 **Rin:** _Just a joke between friends_

**Gou:** _We’re not friends, we’re family. Big difference._

_*_

Rin didn't spot Sousuke at the restaurant when he arrived. The table they had reserved was under Sousuke’s name (Rin wasn't afraid that he'd be recognized, but it'd be a pain if he was), and when the maitre d’ led him to it, Rin realized why Sousuke had picked this particular restaurant to have dinner. On the wall opposite of their table there was huge aquarium filled with shimmering blue water and colorful, exotic fish. Rin even spotted a shark, a small one, streaking past.

Rin took his seat and ordered a glass of wine for himself while he waited.

There were smaller fish tanks around the restaurant besides the wall, and those were big enough for a man to wade into if he wanted to. Haru would have loved this place, Rin decided. Hell, he would climb into the tanks if Makoto didn't stop him.

Haru and Makoto had come here before, Rin realized. He had seen the pictures on social media -- posted by Makoto, of course. Haru barely knew what social media was. Damn, Rin thought, they had been together a long time. Was it really twenty years? When Makoto had made their relationship official, no one had been surprised.

Rin had been happy for them, of course, but that happiness wasn't totally devoid of envy, which gave everything a bitter taste. And it wasn't that he was jealous of Haru -- despite his youthful passion for him and the longing that came with that, Rin knew that their relationship was deeper than friendship now, and wasn't exactly love. (But it could have been.)

And besides, it wasn't like he could _live_ with Haru, like Makoto could. (He couldn't live with Sousuke either, said a sly little voice in his head. Was he the problem here?)

Rin sighed and felt a tap on the top of his head. He looked up to see Sousuke looking down at him. “I've been waiting,” Rin said irritably as Sousuke took his seat.

“The traffic was bad,” Sousuke said as the waiter came over with the menus. Rin settled in and noticed that there was no wedding band on Sousuke’s finger. But that didn't mean anything. Lots of men didn't chose to wear their rings.

They ordered their food -- Sousuke, a miso pork croquette with truffle pommes frites and Rin an omelette soufflé and a spinach salad.

They talked vaguely about things that didn't matter -- what old classmates were up to, the current state of swimming. Rin was surprised to learn that Sousuke kept up with his career, could rattle off the results of the last couple of heats that Rin had participated in.

“You don't have to tell me,” Rin said, pushing his hair back from his face. “I was there.”

Sousuke leaned back against his chair and shrugged. “I'm a fan of yours, Rin. A part of me wants nothing more than to hash out your entire career and give you bullshit advice on how to continue your winning streak.”

“Stop it. You're making fun of me.”

“What?” Sousuke stared at him. “Do you know I didn't get any sleep the night of your 100 meter freestyle in Rio because I had to see you swim? I had a class that morning but it didn't matter. I had to see you win. And you did!”

“Only the bronze,” Rin said. It had been a matter of some controversy that he had been picked to do the 100 meter over Haru, whose times had flagged that week. There were online posts immediately after Rin medaled saying that if Haru had competed, he would've taken gold. That thing was, Rin didn't disagree. But it stung, nonetheless.

(But then again, they’d both been making good on their promise in Tokyo, swimming the relay together and medalling together too.)

“Anyway, what about you? Why did you decide on medicine? The last time we spoke, you said you would go work for your father’s business.”

Sousuke grimaced. “Well, I tried. I came to Tokyo and worked for him full-time, but -- you know what he's like. He hated that all that money he invested into my swimming career would have no return now. We argued. He fired me.”

“Oh, Sousuke…”

Sousuke waved him off. “It was a long time coming -- at least I got to tell him what I thought about his investment strategy. My mom helped pay for some of my books, but otherwise --” He made a slicing motion with his hand. “Cut off.”

“Must've been hard, getting started.”

“It was. I worked -- I crammed like crazy. I roomed with Rei -- from the Iwatobi Swim Team, do you remember him?”

“Of course. It's a small world.”

“The smallest. He helped me get ready for the entrance exams. We roomed to together for almost six years. He's a weird little guy, but a great friend.”

“Yeah. Rei is great, he used to make me cookies back in high school. Speaking of high school, how is the shoulder? Speaking of your shoulder, why are you doing this instead of swimming?”

Sousuke blinked at him. His eyes were as beautiful as ever, like the untroubled sea, but Rin wouldn't allow himself to be distracted by that. He needed to know. He had been dying to ask all day, and like hell would Sousuke dodge his questions like he always did.

“Well, it was because of you,” Sousuke said simply.

“WHAT,” Rin said loudly. The people in the nearby table looked at him, but Rin wasn't going to be distracted by that either. He leaned in and gestured for Sousuke to do the same. Quietly, he said, “Sousuke. Really, what the hell? Tell me the truth.”

“It is the truth. Remember that time in Samezuka, before graduation? You told me you would wait for me.”

“And I did!”

“Rin, please. I listened to you and thought -- why does he believe in me when none of the doctors I've seen did? Rin doesn't know shit about medicine, or really anything else besides swimming…”

“Hey…!”

“But I didn't either. And I realized that wasn't good enough for me. Not anymore.” Sousuke spread out his hands across the tablecloth. “There's a famous saying that goes: ‘Physician, heal thyself!’”

“Huh?”

“Nevermind, it's something Rei would say… My shoulder’s fine. Anyway, it’s something I have to live with, even when it's not fine. I can still swim, just not competitively. And now I can -- I can help other people before something like this happens to them.”

“You think those young swimmers are going to listen to you, Sousuke? No offense, but you aren't saying anything that their parents and their coaches aren't saying.”

“Sure. But I was a nationally ranked butterfly swimmer at sixteen and fucking retired with injuries at eighteen. I know what I'm talking about.”

“I'm --” Rin interrupt himself as the food came and was served to them. They ate without speaking, and Rin concentrated on methodically stealing Sousuke’s pommes frites, one by one. Sousuke let him do it. As the meal wound down, however, Rin decided to say what he was thinking.

“I’m angry at you,” he said, and Sousuke scowled at him.

“Why?”

“Because you gave up the dream! I convinced Haru to swim competitively, to share my dream, but you always resist me, Sousuke.”

“There isn’t one dream in the world, Rin,” Sousuke said. “And people can find new dreams.”

“Not me,” Rin said. “I’ve only ever wanted to swim. I thought you did too.”

“Of course I did. But I -- couldn’t. Not after that.”

“You didn’t _try_ \--”

“ _Bullshit._ ” Sousuke was angry now too, his face was flushed and his eyes sparkled with fury. Rin grinned at him, a smile that was full of sharp teeth. He loved it when Sousuke got angry, because it happened so rarely -- or rather, when Sousuke allowed his anger to show.

Rin wanted nothing more than to pay his bill and drag Sousuke into an alley and solve this once and for all.

But then Sousuke looked away and sighed. “I did nothing but try. The specialists I saw after high school told me that if I had completely devoted myself to rest and physiotherapy during my third year, maybe I could have saved my shoulder. But even then it wasn’t -- I _had_ to move forward, Rin. I couldn’t just let myself get left behind and thrown away. I had to find a new dream.”

“I know,” Rin said, and knew even as he said that he did know, that he’d known it the entire time. Even back in Samezuka, desperately trying to ignore the writing on the wall when it came to Sousuke, Rin had known.

Suddenly, he felt drained. Old. He put down his fork and stretched out his hand, feeling it tingle. The aches and pains that just this morning had seemed so inconsequential now threatened to take over. “I should -- go back to my hotel. I’m off to Iwatobi tomorrow to see Gou and the kids.”

“Come back to my place, have a drink,” Sousuke said, and took Rin’s hand and squeezed for a moment. “Don’t spend the night alone.”

“Would your wife like that? Bringing home your best friend from elementary school?”

Sousuke frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Gou told me that you’d gotten engaged -- ages ago. Don’t tell me you’ve kept the poor girl hanging on all this time?”

“I --” For some reason, Sousuke looked embarrassed as well as angry. “It was my father’s idea. She was the daughter of our biggest competitor, and he thought that our engagement would help us get a foothold in the rest of Nakamura’s holdings. She was a nice person -- but trapped like I was. I ended things when I wasn’t a part of my father’s business anymore.”

“Oh,” Rin said. He didn’t know what else to say. He had held onto his anger at Sousuke for getting married -- and not telling him, of course! Rin should have been his best man! -- that he didn’t know what else to do now that he had no reason to hold on.

After a while, he said, a little weakly and hating himself for it, “Okay. Let’s go home.”

Sousuke smiled at him.

“I mean, your home,” Rin said as the waiter came to take away their empty dishes. “My home is in Australia and it’s amazing. The views -- you’ve never been there, Sousuke, why haven’t you -- you have to come, next Obon.”

“If I have nothing better to do,” Sousuke said with a disdainful look on his face, one that always got Rin’s heart racing. Rin grinned at him, knowing he was being baited. He grabbed the check from out of the waiter’s hand.

Sousuke swore under his breath and reached for it, but Rin slipped his card into the folder and handed it back to the waiter.

“I should pay for that,” Sousuke said. “I made the reservation.”

“I make more money than you,” Rin said, smiling. “I’m going to pay.”

“Maybe you do now, but I have potential to earn more later on,” Sousuke said.

“So pay later on,” Rin said with a shrug, as his card was returned to him. He got up and strolled out of the restaurant. Sousuke followed him out and they were still bickering about the bill as they took the the train to Sousuke’s apartment.

*

“It’s really small,” Sousuke warned him as they went up a long flight of stairs. It was a pre-war building and there was no elevator. Sousuke lived in the top floor. Rin was an Olympic athlete and so was not winded when they got to the top. Annoyingly, neither was Sousuke. He found his keys and began to open the door, while Rin looked around.

There were three other apartments besides Sousuke’s on this floor, each with a welcome mat and some cheerful knick knacks and fake flower garlands that tried to fight against the bare severity of the apartment hallway.

Only Sousuke’s door was unadorned, but that didn’t surprise Rin in the least. Sousuke, the subtle bastard, always kept the best things inside. Sousuke opened the door and let Rin in first. He hadn’t been lying about the size of the apartment. There were closets bigger than it. Rin’s own closet, in Australia, was probably bigger than it. But Sousuke showed him around like it was a mansion, and Rin laughed, and decided to treat it as such.

He flopped on Sousuke’s futon and looked at his host appealingly. “Give me something to drink.”

“Barley tea all right?”

“ _Sousuke,_ why would you say that? You promised me a drink.” Rin threw his arm across his face and stretched, sighing dramatically. “We talked so much at the restaurant that I forget to get drunk.”

“As a _doctor_ , I wouldn’t recommend --”

“Shut up. As a doctor. Ha! I bet you walk around that place, in that white coat, with those shoulders… All the nurses must be in love with you. The _dreamy_ Doctor Yamazaki!”

“Don’t talk stupidly,” Sousuke said, handing him a bottle of beer. Rin took it and leered at him. He took a sip and made a face. Sousuke’s taste in liquor was always pretty suspect. At least that hadn’t changed since high school.

Sousuke sat down with a sigh and took a pull from his own bottle.

It was in the spirit of nostalgia that made Rin lean against Sousuke and say, breathily, in his ear, “Sousuke, do you remember sharing that bunk with me?”

Sousuke looked at him suspiciously, but only nodded.

“You were always so quiet up there at night, like you weren't jacking off constantly. God, I would listen to you breath, same as if you were swimming, and think - _who is he fooling?_ ” Rin pressed his face against the curve of Sousuke's neck. He could feel the faint throb of his pulse, and smiled when it quickened under him.

“I didn't,” Sousuke said, sounding a little choked. “Not constantly.”

“Ugh, I did. All of second year, I couldn't with Nitori and his innocence sleeping above me. But you --” Rin cackled. “I knew you weren't an innocent!”

Sousuke rested his hand on his face. “You always made so much noise.”

“I wanted you to come down and stop me. But you never did. Shit, I’m gay as fuck and I went to an all-boys boarding school and I didn't even get laid once my last year there.”

“Rin.”

Rin cuddled up next to Sousuke, appreciating his bulk anew. Sousuke threw off warmth like a heater and Rin hadn't realized how cold he had been until now.

“ _Rin_ ,” Sousuke said urgently. “Did you just say that you were gay.”

“Yeah?”

“But --”

“Um, Sousuke. How can you claim to be my biggest fan if you don't know I made the 100 Most Influential LGBTQ Athletes and Public Figures for _All-Sport Magazine_? I was number 69!”

Rin giggled at the look on Sousuke’s face. It looked like he had been hit by a truck while getting the biggest erection of his life. Amazing, really.

“We don't always get foreign publications here,” Sousuke grumbled, pulling himself together for a moment. “And I try not to search for you too often.”

“Why not? Too many half-naked photo shoots or not enough?”

“Why do you think I -- mean, I might not be --” Sousuke protested weakly. Rin smiled at him, smug and happy all at the same time.

“But you are,” he said, and kissed Sousuke for the first time. It felt great to do it, just as he imagined it would, all those years ago, lying sleepless in his bottom bunk at Samezuka, listening to Sousuke’s deliberate breathing above him.

Just like he was swimming.

Sousuke pulled away then and for a sickening moment Rin thought he had misjudged it, that he was going to lose his best friend after all, but Sousuke only hushed him.

“The walls are thin and this futon creaks,” he said, and then smiled. “And you always make too much noise.”

“ _Sousuke_ , you’re so mean,” Rin whined. “Do you have some lube. And condoms?”

“In my bedroom.”

“You have a bedroom? I thought this was a studio!”

“Idiot, of course I have a bedroom. It’s behind that curtain.”

“So it _is_ a studio,” Rin said, sitting up. “We don’t have to go there. We can fuck on the floor for all I care. Just -- take off your clothes?”

“I bet I can do it faster than you.”

Rin rolled his eyes, but was secretly pleased. Of course it would be a competition. Wasn’t everything, when it came to Sousuke? He pushed off his blazer and didn’t bother undoing the buttons of his shirt -- just pulled it over his head and tossed it over his head. His jeans felt like he had gotten them wet or something; they were a bitch to get off.

By the time he had finished -- hoping and shimmying around the tiny space that made up Sousuke’s living room, Sousuke was already finished, wearing a smug smile on his lips and nothing else.

“I win,” Sousuke said happily.

Rin growled, “That’s the last time you say that tonight!”

Looking critically at Sousuke’s body, it was clear that he had put on some weight from the last time Rin had seen him undressed. The extra weight didn’t look bad on him, quite the opposite, really. Rin had always liked big guys, especially ones that liked to yield to him.

Rin drew Sousuke to him and purred, “Is this your first time?”

Sousuke scoffed. “No.”

“I mean with a _guy_ ,” Rin said, grinning, showing his teeth.

“Still no. I went to an all-boys boarding schools too, you know.”

“What the fuck! Who was it?”

“What?”

“Who did you --”

“Kiss me,” Sousuke said, and did it, pulling Rin closer and into a hot, demanding kiss.

“A pale imitation of me,” Rin said, pouting. “He doesn’t even _swim_.”

“What are you talking about?” Sousuke said, exasperatedly. Rin thought that it would be wholly expected if they actually did argue before having sex for the first time, and that did have a certain appeal to it. He did genuinely like to argue with Sousuke, it was invigorating and it never really meant anything.

But they didn’t have time now, he realized. Time was ticking down and nothing lasted, nothing at all. His thoughts must’ve shown on his face, because Sousuke leaned against him and shepherded him past the curtain to his small bed. It wasn’t big enough for the both of them, not really, but Rin was happy enough to clamber on to Sousuke’s stomach and sit there.

He passed an appreciative hand down Sousuke’s chest and practically purred in pleasure when he felt Sousuke’s hands rubbing against his thighs. Sousuke quirked up his eyebrow and said, “Still shaving everywhere?”

Rin pinched one of his nipples and smiled when he hissed in displeasure. “It cuts down on water resistance, as you know.”

“Sure,” was Sousuke’s reply, accompanied by a smirk that said he didn't believe Rin at all. And Rin couldn't have that, Sousuke looking so smug and stupidly handsome when he should be falling apart. So he pressed himself against Sousuke, lining that long, lean body against his own.

Maybe it was better that they hadn't done this in school. Rin didn't think he would have been able to just lie there and kiss Sousuke like this, taking his time with it, leisurely fucking his tongue against Sousuke’s mouth, watching the fire being lit in his eyes.

With a groan, Sousuke flipped them over and pushed his leg in between Rin’s thighs, his cock rubbing against Rin’s own. Without thinking, Rin grabbed Sousuke’s shoulder, to press himself closer to him. He realized his mistake right away, seeing the flash of pain cross Sousuke’s face.

Rin dropped his arm and swore. “Fuck! Sorry, I'm sorry. Are you okay?”

“I'm fine,” Sousuke said, through gritted teeth.

“You fucking asshole, you always lie to me,” Rin said, pulling himself to Sousuke’s other side. He pressed a kiss on the side of his neck and bit at his jaw.

“I never lie to you,” Sousuke said, his voice so deeply sincere that Rin flushed, his cheeks burning.

“You lied to me for an entire year, what the hell!”

“Besides that, though.”

“Lies of omission are still lies, Sousuke.”

“A pretty big word for you, Rin. I'm glad the chlorine hasn't leached into your brain yet.”

Rin sighed and sat up. He pulled his hair tie off, shaking his hair loose. He looked down at Sousuke, and said, “Do you want me to fuck you or not? Time is ticking, friend.”

Sousuke looked at him, his face almost a mask. But then it cracked almost at once. He gave Rin a rueful smile. “Yeah, I do.”

“I knew I was right,” Rin said. “I always am.”

“Wait a minute…”

“I knew you were in love with me for your entire fucking life,” Rin said triumphantly, and Sousuke made a face like he was offended that Rin would even think that -- except he didn't say no. Because it was true.

“You knew, huh,” Sousuke said coolly. “Didn’t do anything about it though.”

“I’m doing something now,” Rin said, slapping his hand against Sousuke’s bicep. “If it was up to you, you would never -- you would never fucking say anything, do anything. You always let me go.”

“Because that’s what you wanted! I’m not an asshole who holds on when people want to leave. That’s not what love is.”

“And you called me the romantic maniac,” Rin muttered. “We really are alter-egos.”

“Huh?”

Rin looked at the electronic clock that sat on Sousuke’s bedside table. The time made his head spin, but he _had_ to --

“Go to sleep,” Sousuke urged him, running his hand through Rin’s hair, petting him like he was a cat.

“I’m not sleepy,” Rin protested, and almost immediately went to sleep on top of Sousuke.

*

Rin woke up to the sound of the radio playing in another room. The daylight was weak and greyish through the curtains, but he could see that the time was late, almost mid-morning. He was alone, but he could hear sounds of washing through the curtain, and smell coffee brewing. Rin smiled. So Sousuke remembered that Rin had brought back a preference for coffee from Australia.

A striped orange cat was looking at him from the floor. She blinked her green eyes at him, and lifted a paw to wash it, unconcerned over his scrutiny. Sousuke came in just then, with a cup of coffee and a pastry for Rin. In between bites, Rin asked Sousuke how long he had had a cat.

“She’s not mine,” Sousuke said, sitting next to him. He had dressed and bathed, he smelled clean. “Sometimes she comes in in the mornings and I don’t say anything.”

“You were always a target for wandering pussy,” Rin said and nearly spat out his coffee when Sousuke slapped him the back. He glared at him in between coughs, but Sousuke only gave him an innocent look.

“I thought you were choking,” Sousuke said. The innocent act didn’t really work on him. He could do angry and cool, and soft (when he was looking at Rin, usually) but not innocent. At least, not now.

“So,” Rin said, brushing the crumbs from his face. His hair was a mess and he was fairly sure his breath was horrible. He grinned at Sousuke. “Wanna a quickie before you go to work?”

“I’m off this weekend,” said Sousuke, nonplussed.

“That’s even better. Come with me to Iwatobi. I’m going to see Gou and the kids. Have you met them?”

“I’ve met Gou,” Sousuke said.

“Idiot,” Rin said, getting up. “I’m going to take a shower. Join me?”

“We wouldn’t fit,” Sousuke said, and Rin found out very quickly that he was right. “Fuck,” he said, regretfully as the water hit his face. “We should have gone back to my hotel instead.”

Rin always had these realizations when they were too late to be helpful.

When he came out of the shower, trailing vapor behind him, Rin saw that his clothes were already ironed and folded on Sousuke’s bed. Sousuke himself was lying on the futon, looking at his phone, but he looked up when he felt Rin dripping on him.

“ _Sou-chan_ , I wasn’t kidding about the quickie,” Rin said sweetly. He stroked his cock and leaned down to see what Sousuke had been looking at.

Train timetables, it turned out, which was confirmed by Sousuke’s next words. “It’s a four hour trip to Iwatobi,” he said, putting aside his phone. “And don’t call me that.”

“I’m probably going to sleep the whole way. Also, I think I just did?” Rin said, as he began to unbutton Sousuke’s shirt. He felt Sousuke swallow quickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. His eyes were wide and he was almost shaking when he undid his belt and pushed down his pants.

It turned out that Sousuke was right about the futon. It creaked, it moaned and it shook like it was about to fall apart. It wasn’t exactly like the bottom of a bunk bed, but it was a pretty good approximation.

And Rin would never have guessed that Sousuke would blush so furiously when his cock went into him, and that he would squirm and beg so prettily for Rin to fuck him harder, to give him more. And Rin could hardly deny his request -- Sousuke never asked for anything from Rin.

He was held by Sousuke’s thighs wrapped around him and knew he couldn’t get as deeply into Sousuke as he wanted to, as Sousuke wanted him to, but Sousuke felt so hot and so strong around him that -- Rin came embarrassingly quickly. He pulled out, dopey and satisfied, and it only came to him as he watched the dribbles of come stain the dark fabric of the futon that he hadn’t used protection.

“Fuck,” he said, scrabbling away from Sousuke, who blinked at him, looking as confused as Rin felt.

“I’m sorry,” Rin babbled, “Shit. I’m clean, but -- Fuck. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Sousuke said, a little brusquely. “But you got come on my futon. Clean it up?”

Rin was about to get up and get a cloth or something, but Sousuke didn’t let him go.

Not really looking at Rin, Sousake said, slyly, “I hate this thing anyway.”

He pulled Rin closer and kissed him thoroughly, pulling at Rin’s hair as he did so. Rin felt almost drunk with it, the pain, the pleasure, the feeling of Sousuke’s body so close to his own. He could just be buried here, in this fog of sex and love, except his phone started to ring in the pocket of his jeans. It was Gou’s ringtone.

Rin remembered his plans to see Gou, and his hotel room that still had all his bags. And the checkout time, which was an hour ago.

“Shit,” he muttered into Sousuke’s skin. “Do you know you messed up all my plans?”

“Consider us even, then,” Sousuke said. Before, he always had to have have the last word.

“Feh,” Rin said, because the last word was always going to be his. He reached for Sousuke’s phone, to text the news to Gou. And then it was the simple matter of putting himself together again, helping Sousuke pack, and putting out the cat.

*

It took almost all of the Matsuoka charm for Rin to talk himself out of the late checkout fee at the hotel. He didn’t really like trading on his celebrity, as minor as it was, but if the manager happened to be a swimming fan, then what else could he do?

His bags had already been packed before he had gone to dinner with Sousuke -- Rin was a light packer by habit now -- and the only thing that gave him trouble was the big bags of toys he had bought for Gou’s kids. Which was why it was so great to have Sousuke there, waiting in the lobby for him. Rin deposited the giant, pink stuffed shark into Sousuke’s arms and cackled at the stunned expression on his face.

*

As predicted, Rin slept through most of the train ride, with Sousuke on one side of him and the shark on the other. They had dinner at Himeji Station, just some sandwiches from the vending machine and a can of cola that they split between them, as well as some bottled water.

Rin regretted that the darkness obscured the view -- he missed Iwatobi more than he realized. Sousuke was quiet through most of the ride, and belatedly Rin realized that his parents still lived in Sano, for all that his father’s business was based in Tokyo.

“You regret it?” Rin said, bumping his shoulder against Sousuke gently.

Sousuke, who looked like he was going to fall asleep himself, roused himself with a sharp shake of his head. “No. I do miss -- some of it. But I wasn’t that close to my family. Not like you and Gou.”

“Ha,” Rin said. “Gou always accuses me of abandoning her, first for Australia when I was a kid and then -- well, for Australia again.”

“She never said anything to me,” Sousuke said, “I tried to look out for her after you left, but -- I’m not very good with -- girls’ things?”

“I noticed,” Rin said cheerfully, kicking at Sousuke’s leg. Sousuke kicked him back, muttering that Rin was so immature. They scuffled a little, but stopped when it was clear that the other passengers in the compartment were staring at them.

Soon enough, Rin was asleep again, curled up against Sousuke.

*

Iwatobi Station hadn’t changed much in the last decade or so, for a moment Rin felt like he was back in high school again, stuffed back into a body that no longer fit, into a mind that was always in turmoil. He had so wanted to prove himself, to Haru, to everyone. To his father’s ghost, whose presence he could only feel here in Iwatobi. Rin loved his life, loved traveling to other places and living there too -- but he wondered, sometimes, what it would be like to be rooted again. If not in Iwatobi, then someplace else, someplace where you could still smell the ocean.

Sousuke, who had been walking behind him, pink stuffed shark tucked under his arm, ran into him when Rin stopped walking. Rin stumbled forward a little, but Sousuke reached out and steadied him.

“Rin, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he said, and meant it. He saw Gou coming towards them, waving furiously, and he waved back. It felt right, to be there, then, with Sousuke and with Gou.

It felt like he was home.

“You’re late!” Gou said, in between snaps of her phone’s camera. She smiled behind him and said, “It’s good to see you, Sousuke-kun.”

“It’s good to see you too, Gou. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch,” Sousuke began but Gou dismissed the rest of it with an airy wave.

“I’ve come to accept that both of you are just unreliable men,” she said with a smile.

“Hey,” Rin said, annoyed. “I didn’t come here to be insulted.”

“Too bad. Come on,” Gou said, “I bought the car.”

It was a quiet ride to the house. Sousuke and Gou talked mostly about their jobs -- Gou had just recently gotten a job as a teacher at Iwatobi High School, and she was proud to say that the swim team was still going strong, with her as the faculty advisor since Miss Amakata had been promoted to Vice-Principal.

“I like it here,” Gou said, her gaze soft and a little nostalgic. “It’s so peaceful, not like the city at all. Do you miss it?”

“Yes,” Sousuke said and the both of them looked at Rin, who was looking out of the window into the dark of the night.

The window was rolled down and he could smell the salt in the air. He looked back at Sousuke and his sister and said, honestly, “Sometimes.”

“You were always the wanderer,” Gou said, with a trace of sadness in her smile.

“Like a cat,” Sousuke said gravely, and he and Rin started laughing, much to Gou’s confusion.

*

In the middle of the night, Rin woke up from his makeshift bed on the floor of the living room, rolled over to where Sousuke was sleeping, and nudged him awake.

“Rin, you really are shameless,” Sousuke murmured, as Rin shoved his hand down the front his pants and began to jack him off.

“You like it,” Rin whispered back. “Now be quiet or you’ll wake up Gou. And you wouldn’t want _that_ , would you?”

Sousuke made a curious noise, a mix of groan and a sigh, and Rin smirked, and filed this little tidbit away for later.

*

The next day was spent chasing after Gou’s kids. At two and four years old, Risa and Kyo seemed too young to have distinct personalities already, but that just showed how much Rin knew about child development (which was nothing.) They remembered him, at least, but were shy around Sousuke until he allowed Risa to climb him and sit on his shoulders.

“I’m the tallest person in the world!” Risa screamed, her hands full of Sousuke’s hair. Rin almost died from laughing at Sousuke’s pained face, but not before he took as many pictures of it as he could.

Risa, by virtue of her status as the eldest child, was certainly in command of herself and her brother. She was very forthright, and, frankly, terrifying.

(She reminded Rin of himself when he had been younger.)

She had already hit her brother with the stuffed shark twice, before Gou told her off. Kyo had immediately climbed into Rin’s arms and stayed there, refusing to let go of his neck until Rin promised him a piece of candy.

Both children took after their mother -- but both of them were natural biters, which made Rin feel strangely proud. At least the Matsuoka teeth wouldn’t disappear from this earth, even if he did.

“Do you like to swim?” he asked Kyo, as he tickled him. Kyo looked at him suspiciously.

“NO,” he said loudly and bit Rin’s finger. Gou, who had come in with a juicebox, handed it to Rin and walked away, laughing.

Gou’s husband returned from his errands and met Sousuke. Minami was a good man, but rather quiet. Rin didn’t quite know what his vivacious sister saw in him, except that he looked at her like she was a goddess walking on earth.

Together, they went to the beach and set out a picnic lunch. Sousuke and Minami dug out the fire pit and Rin watched the kids splash at each other in the shallows -- and swooped in when Risa plunged into deeper water. “Now, _you_ like to swim, don’t you?” he said, hauling his niece out of the water.

Risa gave him a toothy grin, which was answer enough.

Then Gou started calling their names -- lunch was ready. There was an assortment of vegetables and meats grilling away in the firepit and and a watermelon to whack away at.

Afterwards, Rin spirited Sousuke away to get shaved ice for the rest of the family. As soon as they were out of view, he looped his arm around Sousuke’s waist.

“Is it too much?” Rin asked him, but Sousuke shook his head and smiled at him.

“No, it’s perfect.”

Rin took that moment to steal a kiss and got a kick out of seeing Sousuke flush under his tan. It took a moment for Sousuke to compose himself. He stuck his hands in his pocket and kicked at at the sand.

“So, you really like kids, huh?” he said, watching the surf.

Rin shrugged. “Sure. Who doesn’t?”

“Understandable. You and they have about the same maturity level --”

“The hell -- _Sousuke_ , what would I do without you busting my balls all the time?”

“Probably dry up and blow away.”

“Yeah,” Rin chuckled. “Probably that.”

*

They came back with probably more shaved ice than was possible to eat at once. Rin’s hands were already stained blue when he flicked a particle of sand from Sousuke’s face. Sousuke, who had been sleeping with his head on Rin’s lap, glared at him briefly before closing his eyes again. Rin felt such a surge of happiness that that he looked around nervously, almost afraid that it would be snatched away.

Instead, the sunset stained the sky in glorious reds and golds. Gou and Minami were bedding their kids down for a short nap before the fireworks started, but Gou looked up and caught Rin’s eye. She came over and sat down on the spot next to him.

“Are you happy?” she said.

“Yeah,” Rin said.

“Good!” she said, and took out her phone and snapped a picture of them. “Don’t mess it up!”

“Wow, all right! You too.”

They shared a smile, the same broad and toothy smile. Matsuokas always got what they wanted (unless they became fishermen) and they knew it.

*

It was another long train trip back to the city. Rin mostly scrolled through the pictures Gou uploaded to social media, liking almost indiscriminately. He saved a couple of the ones of him and Sousuke to his own phone, and shared them on his own page. He smiled as the likes and comments rolled in, though he was almost immediately distracted by the fact that Sousuke had left his own phone unattended in his pocket when he had fallen asleep. Rin proceeded to change his contact information (from Rin to _boyfriend_ ) and change Sousuke’s wallpaper a photo of himself with a sleeping Sousuke on his shoulder.

Perfect.

*

He had planned to be in Iwatobi for another day and so didn’t have hotel reservations for his last night in Japan. Sousuke invited him back to his place, and Rin agreed, but not before he stopped into a liquor store and bought something decent for that night.

It felt right, comfortable even, running errands with Sousuke. He waited around the corner for Sousuke to finish talking to the old woman who lived on the fifth floor, who complained about her bunions and smiled when he heard Sousuke tell her how to take care of it.

Eventually, she thanked him and let him go. People weren’t fooled by Sousuke’s forbidding exterior at all, and that pleased Rin.

“Sorry, she always wants to talk when she sees me,” Sousuke said, coming up to his floor. He opened the door for Rin.

“You’re loved, wherever you are,” Rin said, pulling him inside and kissing him as soon as the door closed.

“I think you’re confusing wanting free medical advice with love,” Sousuke told him. “An easy mistake to make.”

Rin grinned and started pulling off his clothes, and said, “Maybe you’re right, but Doctor Yamazaki, wouldn’t you take a look at this boner for me? I’ve had it for a few hours and …”

Sousuke blinked, looking a little bewildered. “I don’t understand _how_ this is working for me. But it is?”

“Because I’m hot and you’re stupidly in love with me,” Rin said smugly.

(He was right.)

*

It was horrible to say goodbye to Sousuke the next day, even with the fistbumps and the promises that they would see each other soon. Sousuke took his leaving calmly, but then again, he always did.

“You’re going to come visit me, next time,” Rin said. “I’m going to teach you how to surf. You’re going to love it, you know --” He sniffed, which was dumb, until Sousuke kissed him, which was not.

“It’s just -- it’s going to be dumb as hell if it’s another five years until we see each other again,” Rin muttered into Sousuke’s chest.

“It’s not going to be,” Sousuke said, and somehow, Rin believed him.

*

“Sousuke? I thought we had gotten rid of him,” said Haru, his voice muffled over the static from the video-calling app.

“Haru, be polite!” said Makoto, clear as a bell as the signal became stronger. He smiled into the camera, waving a little. “We’re happy to hear the news, Rin! The pictures Gou uploaded were beautiful. You two look very happy.”

“Uh, thanks guys,” Rin said, curling in his bed. His muscles ached, it had been a hard practice, and it was rare that he was able to catch both Haru and Makoto at the same time.

Haru sighed. “If you had to pick a guy you’ve known since you were eight to be a romantic partner --”

“Really? _You’re_ judging me for _that_?” Rin muttered, loud enough so they both could hear him.

“... I guess you could have done worse,” Haru conceded. “Kisumi, for example.”

Makoto kissed him on the cheek and said, cheerfully, “Oh, look at the time! It's an early start tomorrow, Rin, hope you don't mind. Good night!”

“Bye, Mako, Haru.”

Haru rolled his eyes. He was saying, “I was being supportive --” when Makoto finally ended the call.

Rin shorted and closed his phone. He was happy to have Makoto and Haru’s blessings, as obviously mixed as they were.

*

That night, Rin tossed and turned. His dog slept next to him, whimpering in his sleep. But still, Rin's house was too quiet. He regretted, not for the first time, that his earnings made it possible for him to live alone.

There was the Budapest Olympics to worry about, and beyond that, the looming threat of retirement. Rin had no idea what he was supposed to do if he wasn’t swimming. He had been born for it, and if he didn’t have it, what did he have?

He blinked and the dark, watery tunnel around him seemed to collapse. He did have other things. He had achieved his dream, and his father’s dream. He had family, his friends, his team.

He had Sousuke.

Rin got out his phone and checked the time. There wasn’t too much of a time difference between Sydney and Tokyo, but Sousuke was offline. He was probably tired after a long day’s work. Rin sighed, wishing he could be there with him. He missed him, and it was like a physical ache.

He noticed Haru’s icon was green. Before he could contemplate contacting him, Haru had already done so.

**Haru:** _hey_

**Rin:** _Can’t sleep?_

**Haru:** _im always awake at this hour_

 **Haru:** _mako thinks youre mad at me_

**Rin:** _I’m not_

**Haru:** _i told him so but ok_

 **Rin:** _OK_

_**Haru:** why aren’t you asleep_

**Rin:** _I’m always awake at this hour_

**Haru:** _liar_

**Haru:** _if you become an insomniac, your performance will suffer_

**Haru:** _you’re free to do that, but_

**Haru:** _this might help_

Rin’s phone chirped. Haru had sent him an attachment. Rin squinted at it suspiciously. He would trust Haru with his life, but he didn’t know if he trusted him with unknown files from the internet. It wouldn’t be the first time Haru had sent him indescribably strange porn to jerk off to, in the name of relaxation.

His phone chimed again.

 **Haru:** _also happy birthday_

**Rin:** _My birthday’s in February, this is August_

**Haru:** _open the file_

*

Rin opened the file.

*

It wasn’t porn. It wasn’t quite porn.

It was scans from a swimsuit catalogue, like the kind he had once stolen from Coach Sasabe’s office at the old Iwatobi Swim Club. But instead of buxom women doing vaguely swimming-related things in tight swimsuits, it was muscular men doing vaguely swimming-related things in tight swimsuits. Naturally, Rin wasn’t averse to looking at good-looking guys in tight, form-fitting clothes (he was really in the right profession for it) but he didn’t really know why Haru had insisted on him seeing this.

He could find a lot nakeder guys in a matter of seconds, surely Haru knew this?

But then again, Haru could be a little old-fashioned, and he had always seemed to enjoy those trips to Sports ZERO a little too much …

On the third page, there was a really well-built, dark-haired guy in a pair of zebra-striped jammers. He looked a lot like Sousuke. That disdainful expression was pretty familiar. Rin squinted hard and pinched frantically to expand the image further, to the point of fuzziness and then back again.

He didn’t just look like Sousuke, Rin realized. He _was_ Sousuke. Rin recognized the the slight scar on his abdomen, from his appendix removal surgery from fifth grade.

He looked through the other pages of the catalogue and found more pictures of Sousuke, all in smaller and smaller swimpants, and his face more and more disapproving. It was the hottest thing Rin had ever seen.

Rin thought he was going to faint, or make frantic travel plans back to Tokyo. But he did neither. He did, however, masturbate until he passed out from exhaustion.

Tomorrow, Rin decided, just at the edge of consciousness, he was going to to get to the bottom of this. He had so many questions, for both Haru and Sousuke, urgent questions that had to be answered right away.

He would definitely do that -- tomorrow -- and he absolutely couldn’t wait.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It took a few months, but Sousuke is finally coming to Australia to visit Rin.  
> Rin knows he's going to have an awesome time. Obviously. How could he not? 
> 
> It's not like Rin is nervous or anything...

The morning of Sousuke’s arrival, Rin rolled out of bed and started cleaning. He didn’t need to -- he usually kept his living quarters neat, wherever he happened to be living and there was a cleaning lady who came to do the dusting on Thursday, but suddenly none of that seemed to be good enough. Were there smudges on on the outside of the windows? Would Sousuke like the view? Had Bean been chewing at legs of the sofa again? 

Rin got down on his knees and saw that he had been. Shit. He might be able to shift the sofa’s position so the chewed leg was less prominent but still. He glared at Bean, who was squatting down beside him, his stubby brown tail wagging. “You’re a bad dog,” Rin told Bean, who licked his face. “You hear me? _Bad_.” 

The alarm on Rin’s phone chimed its warning. He had to shower, get something to eat before he headed for the airport. He left the sofa where it was and hurried to get ready. Traffic wasn’t as bad as he feared -- he was able to find a decent parking spot and get to arrivals in time to see that Sousuke’s flight had been delayed another fifteen minutes.

A half-dozen weather alerts cluttered up his phone’s home screen, but he tried to ignore them. Instead, he noticed that Gou had messaged him, and decided to message her back. 

**Gou:** _Have you picked him up yet?_

 **Rin: _ ___**No, his flight’s delayed.

 **Gou:** _Don’t worry (oﾟ▽ﾟ)o_

 **Rin:** _I’m not worried!! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻_

“Hey,” said someone beside him, “Aren’t you Rin Matsuoka? I saw you in the Olympics last year, man!” 

“It was three years ago,” Rin muttered, eyes not leaving his phone. 

“What?” the guy blinked. He was a big guy, white but with his face burned brick-red by the Australian sun. “My wife loved you. Said you had the cutest little butt she’d ever seen. Personally, I think it’s those Speedos you guys wear… Say, have you ever had problems down there … you know, with the plumbing?” 

“Never because of the Speedo,” Rin said, with perfect honesty. Overhead, the announcer gave him some deeply welcome news: despite the storms on the route, Sousuke’s plane had finally landed. 

It took another half-an-hour to extract Sousuke from the hands of the Australian border and customs agents and get all his luggage together. Sousuke looked exhausted, and though the flight from Tokyo to Sydney wasn’t _that_ long (although Rin might have different standards for long flights than Sousuke -- but ten hours didn’t seem that bad.) But there was a definite air of tiredness around Sousuke. His eyes weren’t so much sleepy as usual as they were nearly comatose. 

Suddenly Rin’s plans to show Sousuke the town seemed a little foolish. 

The weather too was conspiring against him. As soon as they had rolled out the luggage, the rain picked up, sending water down in sheets. “Well,” Rin said, “that’s what happens when you visit Sydney during this time of year!”

“They wouldn’t give me any other time off,” Sousuke said, and Rin blinked, realizing that this was the first time he’d spoken since he’d gotten off the plane. Tiredness made Sousuke, already not much of a talker, practically mum. 

Rin grinned at him. “Well, I’m still not going to go easy on you! We have a very full schedule to get through.” 

“Good,” Sousuke said, and smiled. Also his first. 

After they’d loaded the luggage into the tiny boot of Rin’s tiny (but fashionable) car, and gotten seated and belted in, Rin leaned forward to kiss Sousuke, who pulled back sharply. Oh, okay. That was fine. They would need to start slow. Rin looked away, remembering Gou suddenly. 

“I’ll let Gou know your plane didn’t crash. Hold on,” Rin said, messing with his phone for slightly longer than he needed to. 

“Tell her I said hi,” Sousuke said, and gave a bone-cracking yawn. 

Rin laughed. “Okay, I was planning to take you to a good restaurant for dinner, but do you want to go home instead?” 

“Please. I feel like I could sleep for a hundred years.” 

“They’re working you to the bone over there, huh?” Rin said, as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

“I think this is my first vacation since I started there. I’m sorry I’m not being very … fun.” 

“Sousuke, buddy, I’ve known you since you were eight years old. You’ve never been that much fun.” 

“Ha ha, funny, Rin,” Sousuke said, leaning against his seat. He looked rumpled and tired, but when he caught Rin’s eye, he smiled. “I’m happy I’m here.” 

“I’m happy you’re here too,” Rin said, “and not just because I want show you how fantastic my house is. Although that’s a big part of it.” 

“I’m ready for my tour,” Sousuke said, as he fell asleep. 

Rin didn’t wake him during the trip back to his house, although he was surprised that Sousuke was able to sleep in what seemed like a pretty uncomfortable angle. 

Rin’s house was a pretty green bungalow that he’d bought after Rio -- originally built in the thirties, and then renovated by its previous owners, who had added modern amenities and big windows. It wasn’t too far from the beach -- Rin could hear the ocean on calmer days. But the real reason he’d bought it was because of the relatively large backyard for Bean to run around in. 

It had stopped raining by the time they’d arrived home, but the air was still muggy and hot. Rin could feel his hair fighting with the product he'd put in it to start to fizz. He scowled, displeased, and got out the car, grabbing one of Sousuke’s bags as he got out. He'd parked under the portico so Sousuke would be able to unload his luggage without getting wet. Rin deactivated the alarm and decided to give Sousuke a word of warning about Bean. 

“Okay, Sou, you're about to meet the most important person in my life. I know Gou and Mom love you, but if Bean doesn't, you'll have to go back to Japan. I'm sorry, those are the rules.” 

“Bean is your dog?” Sousuke said with a muffled yawn. “You didn't mention him before.” 

“Oh, you know, you gotta love the one you're with. At least I acknowledge him, not like you and your cat.” 

“I told you, that's not my cat…” Sousuke began, as Rin opened the door.

“You're so cold! Next you'll tell me you just left her there to fend for herself.” 

“The neighbor-lady takes care of her when I'm not there --” Sousuke paused, glaring at Rin. “Not that it matters, because she’s not my cat.” 

Just as Rin thought, Bean was waiting on the other side of the door, ready for action. 

Bean was a mutt, a part of the litter of puppies that Russell and Lori had gotten when their dog Winnie had died. Rin had been there when they'd gotten them and Bean, the runt of the litter, had immediately made a bee-line towards him. And a few minutes later, he'd curled up and gone to sleep in Rin’s arms; a small, brown bean. 

It had been love at first sight. 

Rin still left Bean with his brother and sister at Russell and Lori’s house when he traveled abroad for competitions. But when he was in Sydney Bean was pretty much his constant, and often only companion. When either his mother or Gou ventured the thought that Rin might be lonely in Australia, he would always point out the existence of Bean. 

Come on, would a lonely guy have a dog this cute? 

And besides, Bean was super helpful when it came to picking up cute guys at the park, but Rin never saw the need to tell his family all of that. Besides, the Olympian physique was usually enough to pull most guys, with or without the dog -- another thing he'd never tell his family.

Bean headed directly toward Sousuke’s knees and sniffed at him curiously, his brown and white speckled face wrinkling in concentration. Cautiously, Sousuke bent down and offered him his fingers to sniff. After a few licks, however, Bean had decided that he too was madly in love with Sousuke, and threw himself into Sousuke’s arms. 

“Little traitor,” Rin said, disgusted at his dog’s rank disloyalty. Bean barked at him happily. Sousuke yawned again, reminding Rin that he was being a poor host. 

“Do you want to take a shower? I’ll get dinner ready -- c’mon, I'll show you your room.” 

The bungalow only had two bedrooms -- the master for Rin, and the guest, which was mostly in use when Gou and her family came to visit. It was also where Rin kept his non-Olympic medals and trophies. He hadn't thought it would be a problem before, but now he realized that it might be rubbing it into Sousuke’s face. 

But Sousuke barely glanced at them, opting instead for stripping off his shirt and undershirt quickly and tossing them on the bed. Rin didn’t share his sister’s muscle fetish, but it would be a lie to say that he wasn't impressed with the level of musculature Sousuke had managed to keep from high school. He wasn't getting misty-eyed, or anything, just -- interested. 

Sousuke, unfortunately, noticed his interest. He gave Rin a wry look. “Not exactly Olympian levels, right?” 

“Ah, yeah,” Rin said, feeling awkward. “Do you even lift, bro?” 

“Huh?” Sousuke said, pulling down his pants, which slid to a halt on his thighs. Rin felt his mouth go dry. 

“Nothing. Dumb meme. Um, I'll go get the steaks ready, shall I?” Rin said, walking out of the room before he could hear Sousuke’s answer. 

Cooking was neither Rin’s first nor second passion, but having been on his own for a more than a decade, he'd taught himself the basics, and more. During the competitive season, his coach controlled pretty much everything that went into his body, but in the off-season, like now, Rin was able to have more of a choice in the matter. 

Rin liked to have projects, and cooking came with a lot of these -- there was always ingredients to track down, recipes to tinker with. This year he was all about the meats, and today's dinner was a part of that. 

He'd marinated the steaks for tomorrow, but they'd do pretty well tonight. He thought briefly about setting up the grill outside, but thought better of it. There was no point in battling the elements when the grill pan was right there. 

Bean was underfoot, begging for scraps and Rin muttered under his breath that his dog was acting like a cat. His phone rang and he picked up -- it was Haru’s number -- while balancing his phone on his shoulder and trying to wrestle out the grill pan from the cupboard under the sink. 

“Hold on, let me put you on speaker,” he said, putting his phone down and hitting the speaker button. Haru was silent for about a minute, the only sound coming from him was his even breathing. 

“Eh? Haru? Are you messing with me?” Rin glared at his phone even though he knew Haru couldn't see him. He was finally able to get the grill pan out of the cupboard and on the stove. He turned the stove on to medium and waited for Haru to speak. 

Haru sighed. “I wanted to talk before you went to bed and started to do lewd things with Sousuke. It's hard to contact you when you go into a sex-fugue.” 

On the other hand, maybe putting Haru on speaker was a bad idea. 

Impatient, Rin tapped his hand against the counter, waiting for the pan to heat up. 

“Why are you so obsessed with my sex life recently? Isn’t Mako satisfying you?” Rin grinned, imagining Haru’s stony face. 

“Makoto fucks like you’ve never dreamed, Rin.” 

“Ouch. But then why bother with me?” 

Silence. Rin could hear Haru shuffling around in his apartment and sigh loudly again.

“I’m worried about you,” Haru said, finally. “I don’t want you to be hurt.” 

“That’s nice of you, Haru, but I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.” 

“Who’s a big boy?” Sousuke said, coming into the kitchen. His hair was still wet from the shower and Rin bit his lip. This was really not the way he'd wanted Sousuke and those words to interact with each other, but he could deal. He picked up the phone and handed it to Sousuke and told him to talk to Haru and busied himself with his steaks.

“Hi, Haru,” Sousuke said in a flat voice.

“Hello, Sousuke,” Haru said, in an equally flat voice. “How is your shoulder?” 

“Normal. How is swimming?” 

“Orgasmic.” 

“Still a hydrophilic weirdo, huh?” 

“Not a thing. Are you still a masochistic weirdo?” 

“Who told you?” 

Rin reached over and grabbed the phone from Sousuke’s hand. “Right, you two, that’s enough. It was good talking to you, Haru. I’ll see you soon!”

Haru made a disatisfied noise on the other end of the line and hung up.

“Your steak is burning,” Sousuke said, arms crossed against his chest. 

_Shit!_

*

Rin was able to save the steak, but they were drier than he wanted them to be, which was truly tragic. Besides the steaks, there was rice and steamed vegetables and a local wine he wanted Sousuke to try. It was all very mature, very adult, and Rin didn’t notice the strange noises coming from the under the table until Bean’s wagging tail hit his feet. He peered down just in time to see Sousuke slip a piece of steak into Bean’s waiting mouth. 

Rin straightened up and glared at Sousuke, who gave him an innocent look in return. “He’s on a special diet, you know!” 

“How would I know? I just got here,” Sousuke said, with a smug smile. He was feeling more himself, now, Rin thought, and almost grinned back. 

“Ugh, you’ll -- you’ll know why soon enough,” he said, resignedly. 

After dinner, Rin tried to show Sousuke around the house, but given the darkness outside and the gravitational pull of the sofa in his living room, they gave up quickly. It wasn’t even that comfortable a sofa -- Rin had let the interior decorator chose it for the nice lines and soothing sage green color -- but now with Sousuke on him, kissing like he was dying of thirst and Rin was an oasis, the sofa was amazing.

Sousuke was amazing. Everything was amazing. 

“I missed you,” Rin said, whispering into Sousuke’s mouth. And he meant, the ten years, the fifteen years without Sousuke seemed unacceptable now, especially when he could run his hands through that thick, dark hair and stare into those heavy-lidded blue-green eyes that promised so much. 

Sousuke pulled back, his mouth red and debauched. “ _Rin_ ,” he said, with that deep voice that made Rin’s insides quake. He frowned. “Rin. What’s that smell?” 

Rin sighed, detangling himself from Sousuke and got up. Bean, who was farting quietly and peacefully on the rug besides the sofa, rolled over when he saw him, presenting him with his white belly. Rin rubbed his dog’s belly and looked over to Sousuke with a sigh. “And this is why I call him Bean. See how glamorous my life is now?” 

Sousuke slid off the sofa with a muffled laugh and came over to them. He sat down and petted Bean, who wiggled under their hands, delighted by the attention. 

He even stopped farting, after a while. 

*

Given Sousuke’s obvious jet lag and the full schedule of events Rin had planned for tomorrow, he decided that it would be best to just let Sousuke sleep in his bed while he slept in his. It was a sensible plan, and Sousuke didn’t object to it. They’d knocked off early, and Rin had slept like he usually did -- like a rock -- until he woke up at around three-thirty in the morning. He thought he heard a noise. 

Bean was snoozing besides and didn’t stir as Rin got up and threw on a robe. 

The hall outside his room was quiet and Rin thought about going back to bed when he heard the noise again. It was coming from Sousuke’s room. When he opened the door, carefully so he wouldn’t make so much noise, Rin saw that Sousuke was already awake, sitting at the edge of the bed. His shoulder was in an all-too familiar brace. He looked up when he saw Rin at the door, and smiled. 

“Sorry, did I wake you?” 

“I was already up,” Rin lied. “That shoulder giving you trouble? I have some lidocaine.” 

“It’s fine. It just cramps up when I’m not moving a lot. Go back to sleep.” 

“Hold on,” Rin said, going to the attached bathroom and grabbing the lotion from one of the drawers and came out again. Sousuke took off the brace with a sigh and let Rin rub the lotion on him. He was a good patient, still and entirely stoic. Rin was tempted to press a kiss at the nape of Sousuke’s neck, on the smooth line between his skin and his hair. 

But instead he asked, “Can I stay here with you?” 

Sousuke turned to look at him. “It’s your house.” 

“You’re my guest. I don’t want to --” Rin struggled for a moment, trying to find the right words. “Impose.”

“You know you couldn’t. Not with me,” Sousuke said, his eyes soft. Rin wanted to cry, but he didn’t -- he really didn’t -- and sniffed instead. Sousuke gave him a half-alarmed look, but he shook his head quickly. 

The bed was a queen and fit them pretty easily. Sousuke was still awake when Rin fell asleep, his eyes trained up at the ceiling. Seeing nothing. The sight of him makes Rin’s heart ache.

*

Rin woke up in the morning tangled in bedsheets, his face resting against Sousuke’s chest. He sighed and pressed against Sousuke, breathing in the scent of his soap mixed in with traces of Sousuke’s cologne and the lotion from the night before. And his skin was bare and too tempting. 

He was busy pressing kisses on Sousuke’s skin when he felt him move against him, waking up. 

“Oi, Rin,” Sousuke said, his voice hoarse. 

“Yeah?” Rin rolled them over so he was on top and grinned down at him.”Got some morning wood you want to take care of, Sou?” 

“Do you?” Sousuke said, an adorable flush spreading across his cheeks. 

“Yep,” Rin said cheerfully, pulling out his cock and rubbing it against the bump in Sousuke’s pants. Sousuke gave him a grumpy look, before he pulled his out as well. 

“We should hurry. The beach is a lot less crowded now,” Rin said, before gasping as Sousuke frotted against him. There was competitive gleam in his eye, one that Rin had missed so much. He loved this, the drag of Sousuke’s cock against his, too dry to be truly pleasurable. He fumbled towards bedside table and yanking over the drawer. It was too far away and he fell off Sousuke, who wrapped his arms around Rin’s waist and came along. 

After a few seconds of frantic searching, Rin realized there wasn’t any lube in the drawer. He kept that in his own room. “Fuck,” he sighed, giving up. 

He let Sousuke kiss him, sucking little hickeys on the side of his neck. It felt good, so good that he was about to drift off again until he heard Bean whining at the foot of the bed, his leash on the floor in front of him. 

“Shit,” Rin said, with real regret. 

“What is it?” 

“Gotta walk the dog.” 

*

After a quick shower and breakfast, they headed towards the beach. Today, the skies were clear and there was a cool breeze coming in from the ocean. Bean trotted ahead of them, eager to get to the beach, but both Rin and Sousuke took it slow. There were lots of things to look at -- Rin’s area was a little bit of a tourist trap, but he didn’t mind it -- and when he snuck glances at Sousuke, it seemed like he enjoyed it too. 

They stopped every couple of minutes in front of signs that said Manly and took pictures of themselves flexing and grimacing for the camera.

Sousuke, looking over the photos, snorted rudely. “Figures you’d live in a place called Manly.” 

And then, in English and with a horrible approximation of Rin’s younger voice, he said, “Hi, I’m Rin Matsuoka! I have a girly name, but I’m definitely a boy!” 

“Hey!” Rin said, kicking at Sousuke’s shins. “I’m all man, dickhead!” 

“We gotta talk about how hard you overcompensate, Rin,” Sousuke said, a sly smile stealing across his face. “Sometime.” 

“I’m going to let Bean fart in your dumb face!” Rin said huffily, stalking away. 

He went down a block and waited for Sousuke to jog up to him, and they walked on. The beach was only a mile and half from Rin’s house. The sun was shining down on them, the storms of yesterday a distant memory. 

“This is one of the best surfing beaches in the country,” Rin said proudly, as they made their way through brush towards the beach. He unleashed Bean and let him streak off down the beach, watch him become a dark spot on the beach before he turned around and came zooming back to them. 

They watched a few surfers wait for the right time before they paddled out into the water. The waves weren’t very high now, but still they managed pretty well. 

“Do you surf?” Sousuke asked him. 

“Me? Nah,” Rin said. “Never learned. You?” 

“Not a big surf scene in Iwatobi,” Sousuke said, squinting as he watched a few of the surfers come back. “Rin, I want to try it.” 

“Uh, okay. I think that surf shop down the beach gives lessons, hold on.” Rin scrolled through his phone as made some calls, while Sousuke strode over to where the surfers were cleaning their boards and dint of his (not totally terrible) English and Rin’s distracted help. 

Half and hour later, they were equipped with two practise boards, their own swimsuits, and half-a-day’s lessons with a cheerful nineteen year old named Tony, who expressed polite doubt that two such elderly men would want to start surfing. 

That made Rin’s competitive instincts kick into high gear. He was going to show this kid how wrong he was. 

The thing was, Rin hadn’t learned surfing for a reason, which was that he was pretty terrible at it. He hadn’t told Sousuke, but he’d actually tried his hand at it when he was younger, having moved back to Australia for the second time. And time had not improved Rin’s surfing. At all. 

But despite his own failures, it was great to see Sousuke really get into it.

He wiped out almost as many times Rin did, but while each time Rin wondered what the fuck was happening, it seemed like Sousuke was more and more determined to learn how to do it well. 

Eventually, Rin opted to sit on the sand with Bean, trying desperately to apply sunscreen to places that the water had washed off. By the end of the lessons, Sousuke came tramping back to him, exhausted but smiling. 

“I feel like I saw a baby bird fly for the first time,” Rin said, taking Sousuke’s proffered hand and getting up. 

“I liked it,” Sousuke said, “I might come back here later and try again.” 

It was already mid afternoon by then, and Rin suggested they go back to shower and rest before going out for dinner. As they left the beach, Tony and some of the other surfers waved at Sousuke, shouting at him to come back soon. 

Rin nudged Sousuke’s good shoulder and grinned. “See?” 

“What?” 

“Dr. Yamazaki breaking hearts across the continents!” 

“Don’t be stupid,” Sousuke scoffed, but his ears turned red. Rin laughed until he almost made himself sick. 

All and all, it was a good day. 

*

“Sousuke, are you awake,” Rin said, poking at Sousuke’s side. It was so early in the morning that the sky outside of Rin’s bedroom windows were still dark. That night, they had both elected to stay in there -- the bed was bigger, and essential supplies were always in reach. 

Sousuke stirred at Rin’s touch and batted his hand away. “What.” 

“I want to show you something. I have a question,” Rin said, grabbing his phone. He opened up the file that Haru had sent him a few months ago and showed it to Sousuke, who stared at it silently for a few seconds, though it felt longer. 

“Hn,” Sousuke said and handed the phone back to Rin. Then he rolled around, presenting his back to Rin. “What’s your question?” 

“Okay, my question is: WHAT?” 

“What, what?” 

“What is this? When did this happen? _Is there more?_ ” 

“That’s … more than one question, Rin.” 

“ _Sousuke_. Don’t mess with me, I’ve been dying to ask you this for months. Months!” 

“You could’ve asked Gou and she would’ve told you.” 

“Gou?! My sister _Gou?!_ ” 

“Yeah, your sister…” Sousuke turned around and looked at him. “I can’t tell you anything if you’re going to start yelling after every few words.” 

“I’m not yelling!” Rin pulled himself closer to Sousuke, until they were almost cheek to cheek. “I’m just -- interested. That’s just a whole chunk of your life -- and Gou’s life, apparently -- that I had no idea about. Could you tell me about it?” 

“Well, you know, after falling out with my dad, I needed money, badly. I couldn’t think where to get it quickly, until Gou told me that the agency she was working for was looking for models…” 

“Wait, I remember that place. Wasn’t it called Muscular Talent or something like that?” Gou had gotten the job almost straight out of high school and had bombarded Rin with updates of how dreamy the muscles the models at the agency had. That had gone on for about a year before she had abruptly quit and announced her intention to go to university and become a teacher. It had been a pretty strange turn-around for her and Rin had always wondered about it. 

“I think it was called Strong Talent. I only booked a few gigs before I realized that the pay wasn’t worth, um, all of the grief.” 

“Shit, what happened? Was that the reason Gou quit too? She made it sound like her dream job, surrounded by all those gleaming muscles -- what? Don’t look at me like that, that’s a direct quote -- and suddenly --” 

“There might have been a no-fraternization clause in our contracts…” 

“Wait, what. Are you saying that you used to date Gou? My little sister, Gou? Jesus fuck, Sousuke! That was the first rule of our friendship -- _you never look at Gou!_ ” 

“Fuck off. She was an adult and so was I. And you were in Australia, so I don’t think you could -- mmpf --” 

Rin leaned in and kissed Sousuke, cutting off his words. Softly, he said, “You really do have a thing for Matsuokas, huh?”

Sousuke blinked at him and looked away for a moment. “I guess. That was a really embarrassing time in my life -- not with Gou, but with everything else -- so I guess I kind of buried it deep.” 

“Huh. Yeah. So you said that there were a few photoshoots like that, right? Do you still have any of those …?” 

Sousuke smirked at him and pulled him closer, pushing his leg in between Rin’s thighs. “ _Pervert_.” 

“N-no way…” Rin muttered, squirming against him. He felt almost light-headed with desire. He wanted Sousuke so much, he wanted -- no, there was no use denying it. There was a spark of jealousy that ran through him. He wanted Sousuke to be his and his only. He had always been a selfish brat. 

Age had not improved him, but it had given him more awareness of what he was.

“Sousuke, enough talk. Won’t you fuck me now?” he asked, every word laced with honey. His lover gave him a weary, cynical look, but it didn’t matter. It worked. It always did. 

He'd set out the lube and condoms within reach, and Sousuke grabbed them now, warming the lube in his hands for a moment before he reached for Rin’s cock. But Rin stopped him, looking at him through his lashes. “Don't bother. I want to come with your cock and nothing else.” 

“You're so demanding,” Sousuke said, his breath hot against Rin’s ear. “And you sound like you’re in a porno.” 

Rin bit playfully at the closest part of Sousuke he could reach, the juncture of his neck and shoulder. “I don’t record unless you sign a waiver.” 

“Depraved celebrity that you are, I shouldn’t be surprised,” said Sousuke, smugly refusing to be shocked.

Rin bit him harder this time. 

He was remorseless in the way he goaded Sousuke on, demanding more, pulling, pushing, telling him again and again, _harder, fuck me harder, don’t treat me like I’m going to break._ And finally, it was perfect, Sousuke’s cock inside him. Just right. 

*

Lori and Russell were on vacation to New York City, which made Rin happy (they worked so hard and rarely went on vacation) but also disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to meet Sousuke face-to-face, although they did manage to Facetime with them on the third day of Sousuke’s visit. 

“You’re the little boy Rin was always writing to! I’ve heard so much about you,” Lori said, squinting into her webcam, her hotel room white and cream-colored behind her. Russell was in the background, searching for his keycard. 

“Not a little boy anymore, Lori!” Rin protested, blushing. Sousuke smirked at him and Rin dug his elbow into his side. 

“No, no, of course, not,” Lori said, smiling. She turned to Russell and said, “Did you find it?” 

“If I found it, I wouldn’t be looking for it!” Russell said, aggrieved. He plopped down next to Lori and gave both Rin and Sousuke the once over. “Now, Sousuke, what do you do? Are you a swimmer like Rin?” 

“I used to be,” Sousuke said, “but I stopped in high school. Shoulder injury.” 

“Ah,” Lori said, looking sad. “My brother went through the same thing, except with his knee. It’s a hard thing to recover from, especially when you’re young.” 

“But he’s a doctor now,” Rin interjected, before things could get too depressing. “I’m lucky I was able to steal him away for so long.” 

“How long are you in Australia for?” Russell asked. “I’m sorry we missed you.” 

“A week,” Sousuke said. “Maybe next time, then.” 

“Good! Rin doesn’t switch out boyfriends that quickly, does he? How long did the last one, Haruka, last?” 

“Russell!” Lori smacked her husband on his arm. “Sorry, Rin! It’s getting late over here, we’ll let you go for now.” 

“It’s fine,” Rin said smiling, as the screen went blank in front of him. A little worriedly, he glanced at Sousuke, who was fiddling around with his phone. 

“I don’t usually bring my boyfriends over to see them,” Rin began to say, but he was interrupted by Sousuke kissing him. 

“It’s okay, Rin,” Sousuke said. “I’m not jealous of Haru -- I got over that pretty well.” 

“Y-you shouldn’t be!” Rin said, flushing. “Haru and I were never -- well, anyway, it was over years ago.” 

“Yeah. Still, you talk to him a lot.” 

“He doesn’t have a lot of interests besides water, mackerel and Makoto (in that order), all right? I do what I can to provide him with some excitement in his life!” 

“What a great friend you are,” Sousuke said, his hand on his chin. 

“The best,” Rin said, flicking a finger at Sousuke’s chin. Sousuke caught his hand and tangled their fingers together. 

*

It was almost scary how easy it was to fit Sousuke into his regular life. They went to the Aquatic Center together (Rin kept stealing looks at Sousuke to make sure he was all right -- and he was), went diving off Bare Island, hit up all of Rin’s favorite bars and restaurants, and just hang out on the beach. 

But absolutely the best thing for Rin was coming back from an unavoidable meeting with his agent to find the lights on at home, dinner on the table and Sousuke and Bean snoozing on the sofa. Rin watched them for a while and took a picture for posterity. The sound of the shutter woke Sousuke up, and he blinked up at him sleepily. 

“Are you ready?” Sousuke asked him. 

“Yeah, I am,” Rin said, holding out his hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't really bear to have them say goodbye, so I ended it there. They have a few more days left. Enough to talk about what happens after Rin retires, what kind of relationship they'd like to have, ~~when they should go to New Zealand to get married~~. 
> 
> Ahem. Thanks to Sath for betaing. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are deeply appreciated. ♥

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my beta, Elleth. All remaining mistakes are mine.


End file.
